Fallout Survival outside the Bunker Ch 1
by That1GuyArty
Summary: Arty wasn't like most in the Valley, he spent most of his life in some bunker, not to mistake with a vault, his family spent generations in this bunker under the remains of his great great grandfather's manor along with other families, after committing a crime, his community exiled him from his family bunker to live life as a waste lander... What can go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Fallout, fan story I guess.

The hot sun beat down on Arty's neck, his feet, burnt by the hot desert ground, weakened by hunger and thirst he felt like he couldn't press on anymore… until he was yanked along by the slaver that was escorting him "Come on you, you want your sorry ass wants to live to see tomorrow we have to make it to Toppenish!"

"Ah come on rick… I'm not going to live regardless if I don't get any water or food in me." Arty retorted as he picked himself up and kept moving. "That's not my problem now is it? Hurry the hell up before I have beat your ass to a bloody pulp!" Boy what a shit situation to be in, not even three day it's been since Arty left the safety of his bunker to find more food and water and he gets caught by a slaver. Well, he could be doing worse after all.

Hours later, Arty and the slaver Rick come across an old gas station, worn down, but good enough a place to stay for tonight. "Alright then kid, I'm feeling pretty tired too, so we'll stay here for tonight." And they broke into the gas and go, camping supplies and other garbage littered the place, not much we salvaged but they got some food at least.

Arty was allowed to move freely for the time being, under the circumstance that he stayed in sight and kept his hands where Rick can see them. Arty looked around the gas mart, looking through all the shelves, hoping to find more food or water than the slaver gave him. He was even hoping to find a weapon, and kept an eye out for any way to escape.

He looked behind the counter to discover…a vault dweller? Dead, obviously, his corpse seemed like he was only dead for a few days, large claw marks drawn on his back suggested that whatever killed him was pretty damn big, and if the corpse is still fresh, whatever killed the poor soul must be nearby as well. He inspected his body for anything useful, luckily the Slaver was too distracted to mind any to Arty, and he came across some cram, and a knife. The knife and cram was all he needed to make a getaway, concealed the knife in his pocket and quickly and quietly ate the cram to regain some strength. He inspected the body once more and found out that the Pip Boy on his wrist looked like it was still functional; something like this is very useful in the wastes, a computer, and a guide and in the worst case, something to sell for caps.

Arty was about to reach for it until a familiar hand pulled him away "Well, well, well, look at this, a Pip Boy 3000, good job on finding it kid, looks like I got myself some jewelry." Rick, being distracted by the Pip Boy, Arty saw a chance to strike, he pulled the knife from his pocket, but being the clumsy one he is, dropped it to the floor, exposing him of his plan. Rick pulled his 9mm on Arty and aimed right for his head. "So, you were going to try and pull a sneak attack on me with this weak ass pocket knife? I never took you for a back stabber kid." And chuckled at his own little pun, Arty took this as a time to attack, so he lunged at Rick and knocked the gun from his hand. He then delivered a swift punch to his nose and shoved him over the store counter. Arty picked up the gun and was about to finish off Rick, but he was too fast, he hit Arty over the head with a lead pipe and knocked him down.

Rick held Arty down with his boot, gun aimed at his head, and full of anger he said "Ya know, normally I'd splatter your brain all over the fucking place. But I need the caps, so I think I'll let you live on this one." And with those final words, Rick hit Arty over the head with the pipe again, knocking him unconscious. The Slaver tied him up and laid Arty in the center of the room,"Geez Louise, I'm going to need a cigg after that one." The bothered Slaver stepped outside the gas station, certain that Arty wouldn't be going anywhere and lit himself a cigarette, he began fumbling around with the Pip-Boy Arty picked up and put it around his wrist "Eh, if this thing is worth more than the kid, I can kill him right now for that stunt he pulled-"and during the Slaver's self-dialogue, he heard the worst possible noise in the Valley. A Yao Gui's growl; in the other parts of America Yao Gui aren't that big of a threat, but in the Northwest, the bears here are huge on their own. The addition of radiation mutation only added more to their deadliness.

The slaver turned to his right, fully aware of the beasts presence, with panic filling his mind, he pulled out his 9mm, but it was too late, one swift and deadly swipe from the bears paw sent the poor soul to the floor, leaving him stunned, giving the Yao Gui enough time to finish the slaver off. Clawing and biting at him, in a mass of blood, guts and screaming… Meanwhile, Arty awakens to the sound of screaming, the sound of flesh and he knew what was happening, only muttering a "Crap" knowing damn well that this was going to be an even longer night.


	2. Chapter 2: Nuclear Boogaloo

Chapter 2: Hey this chapter is actually titled properly!

Arty felt like he spent an eternity lying on the floor (Really though it was like 3 minutes) listening to the sounds of flesh ripping, and a very hungry bear smacking its lips. But what was he to do, he was tied up, weakened and had no experience in fighting mutated bears. For a moment, all he can think of doing is lying there and peacefully waiting for his timely demise. Then it hit him, like a pebble to the forehead he remembered the knife he dropped earlier, but that would mean he'd have to maneuverer his way to the knife and cut himself free, all without alarming the Yao Gui. "Hmmm, it's a bit of a stretch, but it's a better plan than simply allowing me to be eaten alive." Arty thought to himself.

Quietly, Arty moved his head towards the direction in which the Yao Gui was in, hoping that it wasn't looking back at him. Luckily, he glanced over to see that it was too invested in its current feast to notice Arty. But he had to move fast, because this thing was chowing down fast. Gradually he shuffled himself over to the counter in which the vault dweller was still dead, and where I dropped the knife. I turned my back to the knife and grabbed it with my two hands that were bound by rope, I grabbed the knife and used one hand to try and saw at the rope that bound the other hand. Sounds of the Yao Gui came to a total halt, which was not a good sign at all. Arty proceeded to cut even faster.

The Yao Gui, having finished eating the parts of the slaver it can chew on, was yet to be satisfied, it began sniffing around for more food until it sniffed the Vault Dweller it attacked earlier, now was a better time than ever to finally eat it. Arty's heart sank at the sound of the Yao Gui trying to nudge the door open, he sped up his cutting, to the point where his wrist was in absolute pain from moving fast in a rather awkward manner. Thankfully, he managed to cut through the rope and released him from his bounds, but at the expense of him slightly cutting his wrist open.

Now free from his bounds, he thought of what his next move was, but his thinking was interrupted by the horrible realization that the Yao Gui made its way inside the store. "Oh no…" I muttered to myself as I crawled over behind a store shelf, hoping the Yao Gui didn't stomp down isle 3. Thankfully the Bear found the Vault Dweller instead and began to eat at him.

Arty took this as a gift from god and snuck through the front door, and he began sprinting from the building until he remembered, the Pip-Boy! He can't leave something so valuable behind, even if it meant risking being ripped to shreds. He turned around and ran back to what was left of the slaver, being forced to dig around, moving dismembered limbs and strips of organs and flesh until he found the Pip-Boy, and still attached to the remains of the Slaver's wrist.

Arty noticed that the Pip-Boy was almost finished booting up, looks like the slaver tried turning it on before he was mauled by Smokey the bear over here. It finished booting, the tiny Vault Tech logo came on and then the Interface loaded "Hmm, and here I thought it was going to be a broken piece of junk." But suddenly a voice echoed from the Pip-Boy's speaker "Hey who are ya callin a piece of junk?!" Arty shouted in surprise at the sudden retort from a Pip-Boy, something that isn't supposed to talk.

This alarmed the Yao Gui and it caught wind of Arty's scent, normally nothing would interrupt it's feeding, but it heard two voices, so he saw a bigger meal. The beast charged at Arty and the Pip-Boy, and Arty on the other hand, was like a Brahmin in the headlights, frozen in fear until the Pip-Boy spoke again "Well what are ya waiting for, haul ass ya goon!" He listened to the talking computer and ran as fast as he could, but to no avail, the bear was catching up fast.

Arty didn't know what to do, he had to think of something fast or he's good as dead. As he ran onto the highway, he found his savior, an abandoned semi-truck; surely the Yao Gui couldn't reach him if he climbed on top. Arty quickly climbed onto the hood and made his way on top, nearly dodging the paw of the Yao Gui.

The blood thirsty beast tried to follow suit, but was too heavy to carry its own weight, falling over again and again until it gave up frustration. Tired out and angry, the bear decided to lie down at the foot of the hood and fell asleep. Arty was catching his breath, he couldn't believe he made it, his first contact with the local wildlife and it tried to eat him.

He sat down on the top of the truck, unsure of what to really do next but wait for the bear to leave, not like he had much of a choice anyway. He looked at the Pip-Boy in astonishment, wondering how the hell this thing talked to him, and not in some fake, navigator, robot, voice either. There was a strong New Yorker accent about it, with a hint of sass as well. "Well, are ya just gonna sit there and stare at me all night, or are ya gonna say somethin?" Arty's eyes grew big, it talked to him again, for some reason he sensed that this was no regular A.I talking to him "Uh, I'm sorry, it's just that I'm a bit surprised, I wasn't expecting a Pip Boy among all other things to be talking to me." Arty replied nervously.

Arty looked around through the Pip Boy's interface while it continued on "Yeah, yeah I know, to be frank I was expecting yous to be shocked, but this the wasteland buddy, you'll be running into a lot of crazy things, especially since ya new and all to everything."

Arty raised an eyebrow at the Pip Boy's remark "Uh, what makes you think I'm new to the wasteland?" Arty's Pip Boy scoffed and said "Oh come on, I've been in these parts long enough to know the signs of people who are new to the wasteland, for one thing you're cleaner than most peoples I've seen, the only people around here who keep clean like this are either Vault Dwellers, or Bunker people." Arty couldn't argue with that logic, the Slaver was so dirty he smelled worse than the sleeping Yao Gui over here. "And ya know what, you seem so scared of everything, normally any crazy wasteland vet around here would've put up some sort of fight against the bear ova here, yet you were runnin like some sort of mole rat."

The Pip Boy was right; Arty was as new to the wasteland as any other Vault Dweller, or "Bunker Person" as he can probably relate to more. A long pause ended when Arty finally said "So uh, I don't imagine that you have a name other than "Pip Boy" huh?" The computer spent a minute before it replied with "For the moment, let's just worry about this Yao Gui here, it's been a long day after all, you should sleep." Arty asked "Well what about you, what are you going to be doing?" The Pip Boy stuttered before replying "Do you really think a computer really worries about sleep? Besides, I've been on sleep mode for a while now, I can keep watch."

Arty shrugged and finally agreed, he lied down on the cold metal roof of the semi-truck and drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the whole antics that have taken place tonight, with the moon light glowing over him he felt a sense of comfort, something he hasn't felt since he was exiled from the bunker.


	3. Chapter 3: How not to fuck up 101

Chapter 3

*4 hours later* The sun started to rise over the horizon, the sound of waking birds filled the area, Arty, still being sound asleep hasn't noticed that the Yao Gui has been gone for hours. The Pip Boy noticed, and began trying to awaken the sound sleeper "Hey, hey kid, wake up! The Yao Gui left!"

Arty didn't respond, the poor soul was out like a broken lightbulb. The Pip Boy talked again "Hey, HEY! WAKE UP YOU GOON!" Arty jolted up from his slumber, looking around for whoever said that, then he remembered the Pip Boy "Oh, it's you, Jesus Christ you scared me." Arty yawned and looked around; he noticed that the area lacked a certain mutated bear "Hey, that bear, mutant thingy is gone!" The Pip Boy, annoyed replied "Oh, wow, I didn't notice" in a sarcastic tone.

Arty climbed down from the truck, he didn't know what he was going to do, he had no idea where he was, he's only been to the outside world at least once, and that was so he can pay the caravan salesman for the supplies that were purchased, and even then, that was only a 30 second ordeal. "So uh, it seems that you've been out here for quite long, talking, Pip Boy thingy, so I really have to ask, what the hell do I do?" The Pip Boy replied "Well that's the beauty of the wasteland kid, you can do whatever the hell you like, as long as you don't get yourself killed, you can be any kind of person you want, from a heroic paladin, you a fiendish raider, you make the choice." Arty looked at the Pip Boy confused "Well that's nice and all, but I kind of meant what do I do right now, so that I don't end up like that Vault Dweller and that one fellow who had me tied up."

The Pip Boy didn't know what he meant, but then realized what he was asking "Oh I see, well, in terms of survival, the first thing you want to do is scavenge some decent supplies. Don't try and sweat it too much kiddo, with my help, I'll teach you how to be the best survivor this side of the wastes." Arty was a bit unsure at first, letting a computer do his bidding, but it wasn't like he had a choice. "Well okay then, I shall accept your help, Mr. Pip Boy person."

The Pip Boy replied "No problem kiddo, I think we're going to make a great team you and I, and hey, just for further reference, call me Pip." Arty began walking along the highway, ready to learn his first lesson in what Pip calls "How not to fuck up in the wastes 101" First, Pip began to teach Arty the wonderful art of scavenging, he began to look through abandoned cars, looking for supply caches that people in the past have left behind, and he got a pretty good handful from it. "Alright, I got myself some canned foods, a bottle of water, some medical supplies, I even got this sweet 9mm. Albeit I never fired a gun or even fought for that matter in my life, but we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it." Next, Pip taught Arty a few things on crafting "See kid, we're not always going to run into fresh supplies, but the last guy that I knew has blueprints for certain tools and medicines stored on my hard drive." So after scavenging a few everyday supplies, Arty managed to create himself a canteen that was able to purify its own water, and he even made a nice makeshift club from a lead pipe and some pieces of scrap blades.

Arty walked along the highway, talking to Pip along the way, learning about tips and tricks about living in the wasteland, how to converse with the caravans, who to talk and who to stay away from, the new form of currency, caps, and also the dangers of radiation. "Well Pip, now that I gained all this knowledge, what am I supposed to do with it? I feel like there's a lot more around here than mere survival, how am I supposed to make a living, how the heck do I even live an everyday life here?" Pip responded "Well like I already said, you can do whatever you want kid, there are plenty of ways to make a living, you can scavenge, steal, and maybe even take some odd jobs for random people in the local towns." Arty thought about it for a minute "Hmm, scavenging doesn't really pay off that well, and I don't feel right taking things from people, but taking work from people in town seems like the better choice, okay then. Where do I even find the nearest civilization anyway?" Pip, having traveled the wastes for so many years, has just about every known location in the Valley stored on his map.

"Hmmm, well, looks like that Toppenish place that one mean person was taking me too before is only a few miles down this highway, I guess that's where we'll be headed." Arty and Pip agreed to walking to Toppenish and finding work there. Arty looked off in the distance, nothing but miles of highway and desert are in his sight, he continued walking along. He thought to himself while walking "Well, I guess this is my life now, sure, I have no real idea where I'll be going, and frankly I don't know how long I'll survive out here, but I feel confident that, with the help of this Pip boy, I'll surely make one heck of a living out here in the wasteland, and maybe, just maybe one day, I can come back to the bunker and clear up my once good name. But until that day comes, I'll just keep on wandering along."


	4. Chapter 4: Arty for hire

Chapter 4:

Arty and Pip discussed many things while walking the highway, like Pip, explaining what has happened to the world, the great war, atomic fallout, that kind of stuff, and Arty explaining his life in the bunker "Well it certainly wasn't like this, it was a lot more calm, food was clean and water wasn't so… murky, also people were friendlier to each other… well, at least not to me, but at least they didn't want to kill me." Pip found that statement queer "Huh? What were they mean to ya or somethin?" Arty sighed and explained "I never really fit in with the others; I was next of kin to watch over the bunker when my father passed, and well, that kind of title comes with its pros and cons. A pro being I'd be the highest authority figure of what I thought were the last people alive on Earth, but the con being everyone was jealous of that, so for the time being they treated me like shit. I never really told my dad about it at the time though, didn't really want to start a drama buzz or anything."

Pip responded "Wow, that must've been a real tough tittie, is that why you left?" Arty felt a lump in his throat "No, I left because I was forced to, by my dad among all other people." Arty noticed the makeshift sign that read [Toppenish, 1 mile ahead] Pip asked "Wait, he made you left? That's crazy, why?"

Arty felt the lump go down his throat and into his stomach "Heh, it's a funny story really, I was exiled for a crime I committed. Murder…" They both fell silent for a moment, this Pip Boy has seen murder in some form or another for years, but for some reason, he found this shocking. Maybe it's because this kid doesn't look like someone who would up and kill another human being, surely there had to be a backstory, that or Pip here has met the most psychotic being in the Valley "Well, I sense a rather complicated chain of events here, care to share?" Pip asked, Arty didn't really want to, but after persistent asking, he finally gave in. "Well it wasn't really murder in my opinion, I kind of saw it as a fight that didn't end well. See, there was this guy in the bunker, Tim Ferguson, a real ass hat, ever since we were kids; he always had this obsession with irritating the hell out of me, anyway when we grew up, he became a regulator, he simply made sure no one does anything we found illegal. And one day, he had it in for me good, he cornered me and kept saying the saltiest shit, and I thought he took it too far, so I shoved him, we ended up fighting, while I don't recall the fight, I do remember in the end that I was holding his gun, and he was on the floor with a bullet hole in his head."

Pip kind of couldn't believe what he was hearing, he thought this boy was so innocent, but he always said the most innocent were the deadliest. Arty continued on with his story "Everyone wanted me executed, the Ferguson family especially, hell if it wasn't for my dad being the head chief of the bunk, I would be dead, but no, he knew it wasn't my fault. But he had to serve justice though, so, instead of killing me, he had me exiled." Pip was quite astonished, a good look at this kid would show that he isn't the murdering type, or least not without justifiable purpose "Wow… well hey, I aint judging you kid, just before you came along, Dr. O once told me that killing someone or something out here in the wasteland always comes with a purpose, let it be for survival or for justice, there is."

That did make sense to Arty, but he still felt the guilt, something else didn't make sense though "Uh, Dr. O? Was that someone you knew?" Arty asked, the Pip Boy stuttered at first, catching what he just mentioned, so he decided to explain "Yeah… alright, I guess its high time I explain a bit about myself, I'm pretty sure you're wondering why I, a Pip Boy 3000 is talking in the first place. Well, the dead Vault Dweller that you may have seen in the gas and go, Dr. Osbourne Willis, but for short I called him Dr. O. I am one of his creations, made in the Vault he used to live in, initially; I was an A.I that was meant for Mr. Handy model robots, I helped him with his experiments while he helped me gain the most wonderful thing; knowledge and a sense of humanity, purpose."

Arty had to ask "So… this Dr. O was he exiled from his vault as well?" Pip answered "I was gonna get to that, see, one day the Brother Hood of Steel showed up to our Vault, and hired Dr. O as head researcher to some sort of experiment involving one of their crazy new machines, he asked that I came along but I guess I was too big and would get in the way, so to compensate for that, he had all of my A.I imported into this Pip Boy you're wearing."

The Brother Hood of Steel, Arty heard about those guys, back from when the scouts left to the caravans when he lived in the bunker, Pip continued on "This base the Brother Hood has, the one that the experiment took place at, was all the way across the country. Down in Washington DC, we were going to take one of their fancy flying ships there, but before we left… we were attacked."

Arty recalls The Brother Hood visiting their bunker now that he's been thinking about it, maybe for the same purpose, albeit the only scientist in that bunker was more knowledgeable in growing plants and making machines work "Attacked, attacked by whom?" Arty asked "Well I don't know really, it looked like those brother hood soldiers, I mean their armor looked kinda similar, but it was jet black instead. Anyway me and Dr. O managed to get out of that mess alive can't say the same for them Brother Hood fellas though."

Pip went on about how after that, Dr. O tried returning to his vault, but they wouldn't let him, something about a contamination warning "After they wouldn't let us into the Vault, Dr. O wandered around the Valley, for years and years he would help any settlement for ton in need, mainly it was repairs on broken machinery, but in his free time he used to wits for more creative things, like splicing genes so that plant seeds could take less water, or helping villages better their lives by showing them how to make their own machines and tools with common scrap items. He was considered a paladin by many people around here in his lifetime ya know, a real great guy, you'd really like him." The silence of the two ensued until finally, Arty and Pip reached Toppenish "Here we are baby, Toppenish! If you want to find work of any sort, this is the place." Pip said as they walked to the settlement, a wall surrounded the town, but they can make out a variety of buildings and towers behind it.

Arty was greeted at the entrance to the town by a guard, short but very built by the looks of it, that or his armor gave the illusion that he was ripped. Keeping his calm, the guard said "Well hello there stranger, welcome to Toppenish, what's your business here stranger?" Arty was nervous, he had to make a good first impression.

"Um, hello sir, I uh, I- I came looking for work." Arty said in a shaken up tone. The guard observed Arty, making sure he posed no threat to his town, finally he put his gun away and said "Well okay then, you're welcome to come on in, as long as you don't start any trouble alright?" Arty shook his head and walked on in, he was amazed at what he saw. For a town devastated by nuclear fallout, in the past two hundred years people have cleaned it up quite well, old, ruined buildings, repaired by a variety of scrap metals and stone for people to live in. Gardens and farms galore, growing a variety of mutated fruit and vegetables, livestock roaming yards and pastures, people out and about their business. It was like seeing civilization as if it wasn't totally annihilated by The Great War in the first place.

Arty brought the Pip Boy back up and asked "Okay Pip, this is all new territory from here, where do I go?" Pip didn't respond at first, so Arty persisted "Come on Pip, I can use some help here." Finally, Arty got an answer "Sorry pal, I want you to do this on your own from here, being able to react with society affected by the Fallout is something you need, something I want you to learn." And with that, Pip went into sleep mode. Arty groaned at Pip's logic, but it did make sense, he had to learn to talk to these locals, sure, he had a rather sharp tongue back in the bunker. But those people were civilized by default; Arty has to now interact with people that only know war, and with war, comes savagery.

After a minute of moping, Arty knew he had to suck it up and ask someone for help, he looked around at the town's people and noticed that guard he met earlier. He approached the guard "Excuse me, Mr. Guard, person." The guard recognized the boy that approached him "Hey, we met at the gate earlier, what do ya want kid?" Arty asked the guard if he knew a place where he can find any work. "Hmm, well if its work you want, stop by the barracks down the street, our police force has been busy protecting the town recently, and we have a bit of a problem on our hands that is out of our jurisdiction, talk to the chief if you want more information." Arty thanked the guard and proceeded to walk down the street to find this barracks.

Pip, out of nowhere said "Wow, can't believe you actually talked to someone, color me impressed." Arty jumped and said "Holy shit, Pip I thought you were in sleep mode, damnit!" Apparently Pip jumped out of sleep mode whilst Arty was chatting up that guard. They arrived to this barracks, made from the ruins of an old police station, a sign reading "Toppenish Local Police." Arty wondered what kind of work he was going to inquiry about, maybe he had to walk the streets and protect the town's people, maybe he was to serve as a police guard himself. The imaginative side of him started to take his thoughts to colorful places as to what he would be doing.


	5. Chapter 5: Exposition Fun

Chapter 4:

Arty and Pip discussed many things while walking the highway, like Pip, explaining what has happened to the world, the great war, atomic fallout, that kind of stuff, and Arty explaining his life in the bunker "Well it certainly wasn't like this, it was a lot more calm, food was clean and water wasn't so… murky, also people were friendlier to each other… well, at least not to me, but at least they didn't want to kill me." Pip found that statement queer "Huh? What were they mean to ya or somethin?" Arty sighed and explained "I never really fit in with the others; I was next of kin to watch over the bunker when my father passed, and well, that kind of title comes with its pros and cons. A pro being I'd be the highest authority figure of what I thought were the last people alive on Earth, but the con being everyone was jealous of that, so for the time being they treated me like shit. I never really told my dad about it at the time though, didn't really want to start a drama buzz or anything."

Pip responded "Wow, that must've been a real tough tittie, is that why you left?" Arty felt a lump in his throat "No, I left because I was forced to, by my dad among all other people." Arty noticed the makeshift sign that read [Toppenish, 1 mile ahead] Pip asked "Wait, he made you left? That's crazy, why?"

Arty felt the lump go down his throat and into his stomach "Heh, it's a funny story really, I was exiled for a crime I committed. Murder…" They both fell silent for a moment, this Pip Boy has seen murder in some form or another for years, but for some reason, he found this shocking. Maybe it's because this kid doesn't look like someone who would up and kill another human being, surely there had to be a backstory, that or Pip here has met the most psychotic being in the Valley "Well, I sense a rather complicated chain of events here, care to share?" Pip asked, Arty didn't really want to, but after persistent asking, he finally gave in. "Well it wasn't really murder in my opinion, I kind of saw it as a fight that didn't end well. See, there was this guy in the bunker, Tim Ferguson, a real ass hat, ever since we were kids; he always had this obsession with irritating the hell out of me, anyway when we grew up, he became a regulator, he simply made sure no one does anything we found illegal. And one day, he had it in for me good, he cornered me and kept saying the saltiest shit, and I thought he took it too far, so I shoved him, we ended up fighting, while I don't recall the fight, I do remember in the end that I was holding his gun, and he was on the floor with a bullet hole in his head."

Pip kind of couldn't believe what he was hearing, he thought this boy was so innocent, but he always said the most innocent were the deadliest. Arty continued on with his story "Everyone wanted me executed, the Ferguson family especially, hell if it wasn't for my dad being the head chief of the bunk, I would be dead, but no, he knew it wasn't my fault. But he had to serve justice though, so, instead of killing me, he had me exiled." Pip was quite astonished, a good look at this kid would show that he isn't the murdering type, or least not without justifiable purpose "Wow… well hey, I aint judging you kid, just before you came along, Dr. O once told me that killing someone or something out here in the wasteland always comes with a purpose, let it be for survival or for justice, there is."

That did make sense to Arty, but he still felt the guilt, something else didn't make sense though "Uh, Dr. O? Was that someone you knew?" Arty asked, the Pip Boy stuttered at first, catching what he just mentioned, so he decided to explain "Yeah… alright, I guess its high time I explain a bit about myself, I'm pretty sure you're wondering why I, a Pip Boy 3000 is talking in the first place. Well, the dead Vault Dweller that you may have seen in the gas and go, Dr. Osbourne Willis, but for short I called him Dr. O. I am one of his creations, made in the Vault he used to live in, initially; I was an A.I that was meant for Mr. Handy model robots, I helped him with his experiments while he helped me gain the most wonderful thing; knowledge and a sense of humanity, purpose."

Arty had to ask "So… this Dr. O was he exiled from his vault as well?" Pip answered "I was gonna get to that, see, one day the Brother Hood of Steel showed up to our Vault, and hired Dr. O as head researcher to some sort of experiment involving one of their crazy new machines, he asked that I came along but I guess I was too big and would get in the way, so to compensate for that, he had all of my A.I imported into this Pip Boy you're wearing."

The Brother Hood of Steel, Arty heard about those guys, back from when the scouts left to the caravans when he lived in the bunker, Pip continued on "This base the Brother Hood has, the one that the experiment took place at, was all the way across the country. Down in Washington DC, we were going to take one of their fancy flying ships there, but before we left… we were attacked."

Arty recalls The Brother Hood visiting their bunker now that he's been thinking about it, maybe for the same purpose, albeit the only scientist in that bunker was more knowledgeable in growing plants and making machines work "Attacked, attacked by whom?" Arty asked "Well I don't know really, it looked like those brother hood soldiers, I mean their armor looked kinda similar, but it was jet black instead. Anyway me and Dr. O managed to get out of that mess alive can't say the same for them Brother Hood fellas though."

Pip went on about how after that, Dr. O tried returning to his vault, but they wouldn't let him, something about a contamination warning "After they wouldn't let us into the Vault, Dr. O wandered around the Valley, for years and years he would help any settlement for ton in need, mainly it was repairs on broken machinery, but in his free time he used to wits for more creative things, like splicing genes so that plant seeds could take less water, or helping villages better their lives by showing them how to make their own machines and tools with common scrap items. He was considered a paladin by many people around here in his lifetime ya know, a real great guy, you'd really like him." The silence of the two ensued until finally, Arty and Pip reached Toppenish "Here we are baby, Toppenish! If you want to find work of any sort, this is the place." Pip said as they walked to the settlement, a wall surrounded the town, but they can make out a variety of buildings and towers behind it.

Arty was greeted at the entrance to the town by a guard, short but very built by the looks of it, that or his armor gave the illusion that he was ripped. Keeping his calm, the guard said "Well hello there stranger, welcome to Toppenish, what's your business here stranger?" Arty was nervous, he had to make a good first impression.

"Um, hello sir, I uh, I- I came looking for work." Arty said in a shaken up tone. The guard observed Arty, making sure he posed no threat to his town, finally he put his gun away and said "Well okay then, you're welcome to come on in, as long as you don't start any trouble alright?" Arty shook his head and walked on in, he was amazed at what he saw. For a town devastated by nuclear fallout, in the past two hundred years people have cleaned it up quite well, old, ruined buildings, repaired by a variety of scrap metals and stone for people to live in. Gardens and farms galore, growing a variety of mutated fruit and vegetables, livestock roaming yards and pastures, people out and about their business. It was like seeing civilization as if it wasn't totally annihilated by The Great War in the first place.

Arty brought the Pip Boy back up and asked "Okay Pip, this is all new territory from here, where do I go?" Pip didn't respond at first, so Arty persisted "Come on Pip, I can use some help here." Finally, Arty got an answer "Sorry pal, I want you to do this on your own from here, being able to react with society affected by the Fallout is something you need, something I want you to learn." And with that, Pip went into sleep mode. Arty groaned at Pip's logic, but it did make sense, he had to learn to talk to these locals, sure, he had a rather sharp tongue back in the bunker. But those people were civilized by default; Arty has to now interact with people that only know war, and with war, comes savagery.

After a minute of moping, Arty knew he had to suck it up and ask someone for help, he looked around at the town's people and noticed that guard he met earlier. He approached the guard "Excuse me, Mr. Guard, person." The guard recognized the boy that approached him "Hey, we met at the gate earlier, what do ya want kid?" Arty asked the guard if he knew a place where he can find any work. "Hmm, well if its work you want, stop by the barracks down the street, our police force has been busy protecting the town recently, and we have a bit of a problem on our hands that is out of our jurisdiction, talk to the chief if you want more information." Arty thanked the guard and proceeded to walk down the street to find this barracks.

Pip, out of nowhere said "Wow, can't believe you actually talked to someone, color me impressed." Arty jumped and said "Holy shit, Pip I thought you were in sleep mode, damnit!" Apparently Pip jumped out of sleep mode whilst Arty was chatting up that guard. They arrived to this barracks, made from the ruins of an old police station, a sign reading "Toppenish Local Police." Arty wondered what kind of work he was going to inquiry about, maybe he had to walk the streets and protect the town's people, maybe he was to serve as a police guard himself. The imaginative side of him started to take his thoughts to colorful places as to what he would be doing.

Arty walked inside, for a building destroyed by atomic bombs, he noted that It was actually in pretty good shape, running electricity, working terminals, even music was playing over the intercom. Arty was greeted by a protectatron, police model, with the name "Deputy Proto" painted onto its chest. The robot said "Why hello civilian, my facial recognition database doesn't have you on file, so you must be new. I am deputy Proto, deputy to Sheriff Calvin, head of the Toppenish Police Force. And what might your name be?" Deputy Proto stuck his claw out to Arty, suggesting a handshake. Arty replied, grabbing his claw to shake "My name is Arty, Arty Mcfly." Deputy Proto emitted a flash from its eyes and said "Okay, your photo is now saved into my facial recognition database. How may I help you on this fine, irradiated day?"

"I was told that you guys are looking for work, is that still an option or did someone take it already?" Arty said, Proto loaded for a second and replied "Ah, yes, Sheriff Calvin has been looking for an extra hand; lord knows we need it in these parts. Follow me; I will lead you to him." Deputy Proto turned around and began walking down the busy office of the station, Arty followed suit, the hustle and bustle of the office left Arty surprised, he didn't think people that lived in the wasteland were so organized after the great war.

Deputy Proto turned into this dark hallway and halted at the last door. "Well, Sheriff Calvin in right in here, go ahead on in." Deputy Proto did a light bow before turning and heading back into the office. Arty took a deep breath and said "Well, my first job interview, wish me luck Pip." The pip boy replied "Eh don't sweat it kid, according to my recent analysis, your charisma skill is at a decent 6, so you should do just fine. Arty knocked on the door, a light, but gruff voice said "Come in" Arty opened the door to reveal the office. Dusty, but being in a desert, that's not a surprise, a large bear skin rug covered the floor, followed with a large desk in the center of it all. A man, Asian, short but built, wearing a faded duster coat and a black cowboy hat, stood at his window, lighting a cigar he said "I never seen you in town before, the name is Sheriff Calvin. But you can call me Calv, and what might your name be stranger?" Arty introduced himself and Calvin grasped Arty's hand and gave him one of the firmest handshakes ever (seriously, that left a mark).

"Well, I was told by one of your fine police men that you have some work available." Calvin finished his cigar and lit another "Yep, as a matter of fact I can use your help. We got trouble with these damn Super Mutants somewhere near town." Arty raised his brow "Super Mutants, what, is this some type of gang?" Calvin lit another cigar "Uh yeah, you can say that, they weren't too much of a problem before, only now they've gone too far. They've went from killing our Brahmin, to killing an actual farmer that lived down the street. Normally, I'd form a posse, grab some guns and go and take care of them ourselves. But because of the recent battles with this faction "Aim" we've been shorthanded." Pip, who came out of sleep mode to eavesdrop on the current discussion said "Woah, Super mutants… Arty, ya sure you want to take a job like this?" Calvin slightly jumped in surprise, eyes widened at the talking wrist computer. "Hot pot of coffee! Did that pip boy just talk?!"

Arty held Pip out to Sheriff Calvin so he can properly introduce himself "Hiya, the names Pip" Calvin was confused, he was no connoisseur of technology, but he knew that these wrist computers don't talk "Um, hi… anyway, Arty, the job pays 300 caps, and an extra 100 if you can bring me proof that their leader, scar, is absolutely dead, preferably a limb. Are you sure you're going to do this?" Arty was hesitant, all his life he's never hurt a thing, not even a fly, he saw himself as more of a diplomat, as opposed to some warrior that would rather fight then talk. No, not Arty, he'd rather avoid unnecessary conflict with his sharp tongue and wit. But don't let that fool you, his father taught him a thing or two on combat, he just prefers to talk things over, and conserve the energy to fight for more desperate situations (albeit that situation has only happened once.).

But he needed to make it in this wasteland, and if meant taking jobs as dangerous as this, he'll do it. Arty accepted the job and was on his way out of town. "Well kid, you have guts, but guts can only go so far, since the sheriff payed you some of the reward, buy a gun, super mutants hate guns." Arty did think of a new gun, this 9mm, while it is a decent gun, it seemed like a peashooter to what unimaginable horrors lay here.

Pip revealed the location of a small general store; he figured buying a gun would be cheaper than an actual gun vendor. He entered the store, a single room, wood floors and walls; shelves full of miscellaneous goods caked in dust surrounded him. The man behind the cashier, small, a frail figure, messy, curly hair, and glasses greeted Arty. "H- hello… welcome to my s-shop, may I help you?" Arty noticed that this man looked… kinda scared of him, the quiver in his lips and the stuttering in his words make it pretty obvious. Arty reached his hand out to the man, out of nowhere, he pulled a plasma gun from behind the counter, and fear rushed through both Arty and the cashier. "O-okay, put your hands up in the air! I'm not letting you damn kids take over my store today!" Arty, hands in the air and his blood boiling yelled "Woah what the hell is going on here, I just came to buy a gun!"

The cashier kept the gun aiming at his head, he was shaking, clearly he didn't want to shoot Arty, but fear isn't allowing him to think straight. Arty slowly lowered his hands and began reaching for the gun. The man ordered him to back away, but Arty knew he wasn't going to shoot, in a calm, crisp, almost sultry kind of voice he said "Come on, we both know you aren't going to shoot me, now, just ease up, put the gun down. I am not here to hurt you, or whatever it is you think I'm doing. I am your friend…" The man, didn't look so scared after that, as if some magic were in those words, the cashier went calm. He lowered the gun and took a large breath "I'm sorry, I really am, these two kids have been coming into this store and robbing me at gun point. You looked like you were with the two."

Arty didn't know what he really meant by that statement, but he was glad that the air isn't so hostile anymore. "Huh, guess these two hit you pretty hard huh?" The man replied "Yeah, every other week these two run in, hold me at gunpoint before I can even draw mine, and take me for every cap I got." The clerk apologized once more and introduced himself "My name, is David Krezeni, I own this establishment. And how may I be of service to you?" Arty explained the whole situation and what he was going against to this Krezeni person, and he knew exactly what Arty needed. "Now, if this really is the first time you ever been in outside world, let me tell you, it's no picnic if you haven't noticed. And Super Mutants, these freaks take the cake in the most brutal of monsters in this wasteland. Yeah you have the guts to take em on, but guts can only get you so far around here. So, why not take out their guts with this instead." Krezeni pulled a large and shiny hunting rifle from behind the counter. "This pretty little number will take the mutants down in a few shots; it's also good for just about any other evil doer you might meet in the valley.

Arty knew that this was the gun he would need, looks easy to manage, and powerful as well. He brought Pip up to take a look at the gun. "Hmmm, oh yeah, this rifle is legit, we got ourselves a Colt Range master Semi-Automatic Rifle, with all the trimmings. Yeh, this is da one baby." Krezeni raised his eye brow and said "This… Pip Boy talks? What is this, some sort of newer model?"

Pip replied "Nah, just uh… modified version of the previous 300 model." Arty paid for the gun, some ammo and other supplied he'd need, and was on his merry way. Krezeni shouting as he left "Good luck Arty… lord knows he's going to need it."

=TO=BE=CONTINUED=/.


	6. Chapter 6: Lithium

Chapter 6: Lithium

The long, vast, dry emptiness of the Valley wasteland has greeted Arty yet again, with the irradiated winds of radioactive dust storms being his only relief from the intense heat. Arty used Pip's map of the Valley to lead the way to the camp of this supposed Super Mutant gang that he was soon bound to deal with, one way or another.

"Okay Arty, we're about a mile away from the mutant's territory, guess this is my last chance to convince you to change your freaking mind. Come on kid, there's plenty of non-lethal work for new waste landers like you, ya know, jobs that won't have an 80-90 percent chance of death!" Pip argued. Arty really didn't know what he was bound to get himself into. "Oh come on Pip it'll be fine, I have a plan anyway, I'm just going to convince these Super Mutant fellows to leave the town alone, I was recognized back in the bunker for having a sharp tongue."

If Pip had hands, he'd be doing the most intense face palm in his life "Ok I get it, you have a way with words, but Super Mutants aren't going to understand your words, especially the words of a human like you. They'll rip you apart when they get a first look at you." Pip argued on more and more, but Arty made up his mind. If he was going to be successful in the wasteland, he wanted to take it by the balls and deal with what it has to offer head on.

 _One Hour Later…_

They reached the area that these Mutants are said to roam, if the coordinates that Sheriff Calvin gave to Arty, the camp should be very close and very obvious. To get around unnoticed, Arty began maneuvering behind rocks, plants and Brahmin carcasses until he got closer and closer to the destination.

The sun began to set, and moon began to rise, Arty was hoping he'd reach the camp by sun down; it'd be a hell of a lot easier to close enough unnoticed. Pip whispered "Well, guess you're really gonna do this… don't say I didn't warn you when these freaks are eating you for dinner." Arty hushed Pip and replied "What's going to get us eaten, is that negative attitude of yours, now please, quiet."

The two reached the camp, surprisingly it was empty, three very large rawhide tents occupied the space, and a large bonfire in the middle lit up the place. But the thing that caught Arty's eyes was the effigies, mutilated human corpses tethered to spike poles, skulls tied on string like some sort of fucked up Christmas decoration hung up on the ten doorways.

But the real thing that fucked up Arty was what he discovered behind the bonfire upon closer inspection. A person, skewered by a pole, charred and cooking by the bonfire like a roasted pig, Arty puked up the sugar bombs he ate earlier. "Oh god…ok maybe these mutants aren't one to be reasoned with." Arty thought to himself, to avoid an " _I told you so"_ moment from Pip.

"Ya see? I told you this was a bad idea, now let's turn around, and get out of here before we get killed." Pip scolded. Arty was bound to agree, until he heard… a person, muffled cries of help from inside one of the tents. "Pip, did you hear that? There's someone inside that tent, and they need help." Arty began to ease his way into the camp "Arty, Arty what the fuck are you doing!?" Pip said in a hushed but scolding manor. "We need to see if this person is okay, we can't just leave someone here to these mutants." Arty replied as he checked the tent he heard the screams from.

The tent reeked, a stench so foul, even Pip was bothered it (somehow) Arty plugged his nose as he investigated the interior of the tent. Turning on the light on Pip revealed utter horror. Bags, large garbage bags, filled to the brim of human remains, body parts, organs, blood, you name it. He couldn't help but unload the contents of his stomach onto the floor at the gross scene in front of him. After he regained his senses, Arty continued looking, shaking in total shock and total fear. At last, the source of the screaming was discovered; Arty found a woman, hogtied and bound to a pole in the middle of the tent.

"Whoa, this broad caused that scream? She looks like she can barely even mutter a moan for help in her condition…" Pip mentioned. The two had to save this woman, in fear of her falling to the same fate that whoever's remains these belong to. Arty quickly untied the woman from her bounds and helped her to her feet. Fully standing, the woman was slightly taller than Arty, short cut, and messy purple hair. A soft, caramel like skin complexion, covered in days' worth of dust and dirt, wearing nothing but some sort of sleeping gown, she covered herself in slight embarrassment. "T- Thank you… I didn't think anybody was coming to help me." The woman weakly muttered "Her coarse voice suggested that she hasn't had anything to eat or drink for quite some time.

Arty popped open one of the Nuka Colas that he bought back in town and offered the girl a drink, she quickly chugged the whole bottle down and sighed in relief. "Oh thank god, such relief, even more thanks." She gasped. Arty was instructed to scan the lady using the scanner built in on Pip's camera for any injuries. "Well, other than some bruises and cuts, nothing serious other than fatigue." Pip declared. The lady led Arty and Pip to the chest containing her belongings; the stranger dressed herself and packed her items. Fully clothed, this lady wore some worn road leathers, and packed a double barreled shotgun, a machete and a satchel carrying some miscellaneous items.

"So, we ready to blow this joint? I got a sister back in town that's waiting for me." The girl asked, Arty remembered that he has a mission to do. "Look uh, as much as I want to get you out of here, I was sent to deal with these super mutants that are supposed to live here in this camp… where are they anyway?" The girl trailed off outside of the tent "I have no clue, the uglies left me in here after they butchered the people in these bags, and why they waited to kill me is beyond me." Pip interrupted on their discussion "Hey, guys, hate to break the ongoing chat, but we are in fact in a Super Mutant camp, maybe now isn't the time for light discussion, they can be back any moment!"

Arty and the woman agreed, they began to make their way out of the area "So uh, I didn't get a name from you… who are you?" The girl asks "Oh, my name is Arty, uh, who are you?" But before the girl was able to answer, the sounds of multiple rifles cocked behind them. "Hold it right there, human!" A loud and ugly voice barked behind the gang. Hands in the air, the two turned around slowly to see the mutants right behind them. 4 large, hulking, humanoid looking monsters, about the height of two regular humans, yellow skin and ugly scars. Dressed in what can be made out as armor, made from scrap parts of a car.

"Well, well, well, looks like this human is trying to take off with my soon to be wife!" The largest of the group said, Arty figured that he's the leader of this gang. The strange girl gave a look of disgust at the super mutants "Wife, that's what you kept me alive for? I'd rather be torn apart by the others than be forced to marry you, you fucking freak."

The mutants advanced a little closer, the leader standing over the two "Ha, ha, ha, you say that now, but just wait until after the wedding; you'll love me when it comes to our honey moon." The three goons behind the leader cackled. Arty, decided to step up to the leader "So, I assume that you are the super mutants that Sheriff Calvin of Toppenish mentioned for your crimes against the town." The leader got closer to Arty's face, his breath smelled like rotten ass and garbage juice. "I guess so, and who the fuck are you?" The leader asked. "Well… my n-name is Arty, and I was sent here on behalf of Toppenish city, to charge you for the killings of livestock and many other mischievous doings, now, before we continue, may I ask for your name, good… mutant… thing?"

The mutant leader grunted and said "Well, my name is Riggs. And I guess you can say that I'm the leader of this rag tag bunch of super mutants." Arty and the woman began to back away cautiously to maintain a reasonable distance. But to their dismay, the three other mutants already surrounded the two. "Well where are you two trying to go?" One mutant growled "Yeah, I hope you're not trying to take my fiancé from me… that would not be the smartest move."

"Riggs I hope you're ready to kill me, because I'm not marrying you." The mutant's gun cocked (again?) and Arty frantically replied "Now, now ma'am let's not do anything to upset these fine gentlemen… surely we can work something out that will give us all what we want." Riggs chuckled and said "I don't give a mole rat's ass about what you want. I'm merely interested in marrying this woman, and then maybe, just maybe, killing and roasting you for the reception dinner."

Arty didn't know what to say, jaw nearly dropped to the floor Arty knew that talking was out of the window. As ridiculous as it seemed, he had to actually fight… somehow. Sweating bullets, Arty snakingly replied "O-oh… well uh, I'm not sure if I'd taste too good… Truth be told I have the muscle tone of a canned ham." One of Rigg's henchman, irritated with all the talking of big words (or regular sized words that he was too dumb to understand) said "Gah I am tired of waiting! Let's eat the human man!" The Super mutants grunted in agreement and Riggs too was quite tired of the talking, gun aimed at Arty's head he said one last thing "Sorry this has to happen kiddo, but the wasteland… well, it sucks."


	7. Chapter 7: Bang

Ch 7: Bang

"BANG" The bullet went straight through Arty's head, making a clear entry through the frontal lobe, and made a messy escape out the occipital. And just like that, Arty was dead, he fell to the floor, as fast as he was shot, landing in a pile of his own brain matter and radioactive waste.

"OH GOD" The soon to be wife of a super mutant screamed, the mutants all giving a chuckle as the execution was most amusing, given their small attention spans. "Oh no… not again…" Pip thought, looking at his new owner's dead face. "Well, show time is over boys, let's get this wedding goin shall we? Get the body ready, I think we will be eating a roast tonight!" The mutants gave a hooray as one of the goons picked up Arty's corpse and threw him off to the side, next to their fire pit…

So I suppose this is the end of Arty's journey, never thought it'd end like this did you? Not all stories are filled of a young naïve protagonist solving all of life's problems with such luck ya know. He wasn't meant for much, I mean come on, a kid who's been sheltered in a bunker away from the wasteland for years, to go on and be some great adventurer? This is the problem I've had with Fallout's 3 and 4's story, granted they're great stories none the less. Anyway, I didn't want to just give up on this story, but I don't have the will to continue it either. So I'd pull a 4th wall breaker and sort of mix a plot twist ending. Call it shitty writing if you want but hey, it aint easy trying to be creative and clinically depressed at the same time alright? If you want a story I feel like continuing, go check out that Doom fan fic I'm currently working on "Tale of an Average Marine" that's a story I'll be sticking with. Anyway, thanks for giving this, what I can only see as a product of Fallout 4 hype story SOME attention… later!


End file.
